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[POV - Riser Phenex]
[Phenex Mansion - Riser's Room - Continuation]
GULP!
I swallowed the rest of the wine all at once, feeling the liquid burn my throat as if it were liquid fire. My hands were still trembling when I grabbed a scroll and a golden quill from the desk drawer.
"I need protection," I murmured to myself, scribbling with a shaky hand.
If that monster – Yuuki Rito – could attack just through my thoughts, then I needed sothing between us. Sothing that could serve as a shield, a lightning rod for his divine fury.
SCRATCH! SCRATCH!
The quill scraped against the parchnt as I wrote:
"My dear familiar, I need your services. Delicate situation. Co imdiately. - R.P."
FWHOOSH!
I blew on the ink to dry it and sealed the letter with red wax, pressing my ring with the Phenex crest. A golden magic circle ford beneath the parchnt, which disappeared in a burst of orange flas.
TAP-TAP-TAP!
My fingers drumd nervously on the table as I waited. The familiar I called was special – an ancient demon who had served my family for generations. Soone discreet, powerful enough to investigate without arousing suspicion, but not so powerful as to beco a real threat.
PUFF!
A cloud of purple smoke materialized in the center of the room. When it dissipated, it revealed a hooded figure – thin, hunched, with eyes that glowed like embers in the dark.
"Master Riser," the voice was like sand being rubbed on glass. "What do you desire of ?"
"Vassago," I breathed in relief. "I need you to investigate soone. Yuuki Rito. Student in Sainan. But be careful – he is... dangerous."
Vassago's eyes glead with interest.
"Dangerous how, master?"
I hesitated. How to explain that a simple impure thought almost killed ?
"Let's say he has... special protections. Don't provoke him. Don't threaten him. Just observe. Report everything you see. And Vassago..."
"Yes, master?"
"If sothing goes wrong, you never knew . You were never here. Understood?"
The familiar bowed his head, then disappeared in a new cloud of smoke.
THUD!
I let myself fall into the armchair, exhausted. It was a cowardly plan, I knew. But I'd rather be a living coward than a dead martyr.
"One month," I murmured, looking at the calendar on the wall. "One month to figure out how to deal with this monster without destroying myself in the process."
[POV - Lord Atticus Astaroth]
[Astaroth Castle - War Room]
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The banging on the table echoed through the dark room like war drums. Atticus Astaroth stood upright, eyes bloodshot, fists clenched like claws ready to tear flesh.
"Gentlen," he said, his voice too controlled to be natural. "Thank you for accepting my... invitation."
Six figures sat around the circular table – each of them radiating power and danger in almost palpable waves.
Cao Cao, leader of the Hero Faction, lazily spun his spear between his fingers. His dark eyes studied Atticus like a predator evaluating prey.
"Speak up, demon," said Cao Cao, his voice cold as ice. "Our ti is precious."
Siegfried remained silent, but his hand rested on the hilt of Gram, the sword that could cut through anything. Beside him, Georg leafed through an ancient grimoire, magical symbols dancing around his fingers.
Jeanne d'Arc – or rather, the corrupted version of her – smiled coldly, her blue eyes shining with an unholy light. Heracles casually flexed his muscles, making the table tremble. And Connla... Connla just watched, quiet as death.
CLICK!
Atticus activated a magical projection device. Holographic images filled the air – photos of Sainan, the school, the Yuuki house.
"This one," he pointed to an image of Asia walking peacefully, "is Asia Argento. My son's assassin."
"Looks like just a nun," Georg comnted, raising an eyebrow. "What's special about her?"
CRACK!
The table cracked under Atticus's fist.
"That 'nun' disintegrated my son! Diodora Astaroth, a high-class demon, was erased from existence as if he had never existed!"
Cao Cao stopped spinning his spear, genuine interest gleaming in his eyes.
"An ex-nun with enough power to kill high-class demons... Interesting. And what exactly do you want us to do?"
Atticus smiled – a smile that would have made wolves retreat.
"Destroy her. Completely. Publicly. I want the world to see that no one – NO ONE – touches an Astaroth without consequences."
TINK! TINK! TINK!
Jeanne tapped her nails on the table, producing a rhythmic sound like raindrops.
"And our compensation?"
"Territory," Atticus answered imdiately. "Unrestricted access to the Underworld's pocket dinsions. Ancient demonic artifacts. And..."
He made a dramatic pause.
"Information about the weak points of celestial defensive systems."
The eyes of everyone present glead. This was an offer impossible to refuse.
"There's sothing more," Atticus continued, his voice lowering to a conspiratorial whisper. "This Asia Argento is not alone. There's a protection network around her. And at the center of this network is soone even more dangerous..."
He touched the device again, and the image changed to show Rito.
"Yuuki Rito. Her protector. Our investigations indicate he's the real threat. Asia may have killed Diodora, but she was being protected by this boy."
Georg closed the grimoire with a dry snap.
"You're suggesting a large-scale operation."
"Exactly," Atticus nodded. "We can't simply attack frontally. We need finesse. Strategy. Of..."
WHOOSH!
Cao Cao's spear cut through the air, stopping centiters from Atticus's neck.
"Stop beating around the bush," Cao Cao said coldly. "You want revenge against a nun and her protector. We want territory and resources. It's that simple."
GULP!
Atticus swallowed hard but maintained his composure.
"Very well. The plan is as follows..."
He touched the projection device again. New images appeared – detailed maps of Sainan, school schedules, patrol routes.
"First, we isolate the main target – Asia Argento. We separate her from her allies, especially this Yuuki Rito. We'll kidnap the other girls close to them – one by one. When they co to save them..."
"Ambush," Siegfried completed, speaking for the first ti. His voice was like iron scraping on stone.
"Precisely," Atticus smiled again. "Six heroes vs an ex-nun and a high school student. Even if they're powerful, they can't be in six places at the sa ti."
Heracles slamd his fist on the table, making all the glasses jump.
"I like the idea! It's been a long ti since I've had a challenging fight!"
Connla finally moved, leaning forward.
"What if they're really as powerful as you say? What if we can't defeat them even working together?"
A heavy silence fell over the room. Atticus looked at each of them, his smile becoming even more sinister.
"Then," he said slowly, "we'll ensure they don't survive to tell the tale. We have access to weapons that can kill even gods. Blessed bullets, blades forged in Tartarus itself, poisons that attack the soul..."
"You're talking about genocide," Georg observed, but his voice carried no judgnt – only scientific curiosity.
"I'm talking about justice," Atticus retorted. "My son is dead. Soone will pay for it."
TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK!
The clock on the wall marked the seconds rcilessly. Each tick was like a drop of poison falling into clean water.
"When do we start?" asked Jeanne, her eyes shining with sadistic anticipation.
"In three days," Atticus answered. "Enough ti to finalize preparations and mobilize our resources."
Cao Cao stood up, putting his spear on his back.
"Three days to destroy an ex-nun and her protector. Seems excessive, but I accept the terms."
One by one, the others also stood up. Siegfried nodded briefly, Georg smiled like a teacher about to start an interesting experint, Heracles flexed his muscles with enthusiasm, Connla remained impassive, and Jeanne... Jeanne licked her lips as if she could already taste blood.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
One by one, they disappeared in teleportation circles, leaving only Atticus alone in the dark room.
CRACK!
He clenched his fist until his knuckles turned white.
"Diodora, my son," he whispered to the empty air. "In three days, your death will be avenged. This Asia Argento and her protector will know the true aning of fear."
But deep down, a small and insistent voice whispered doubts. What if they weren't enough? What if that boy was really sothing beyond their comprehension?
Atticus shook his head, pushing away these thoughts.
"Impossible," he murmured. "There's nothing that six legendary heroes can't destroy. Nothing."
But the wind entering through the window seed to carry the echo of distant laughter – as if fate itself was amused by mortal plans.
In three days, Sainan would beco a battlefield.
And not even Atticus Astaroth could imagine how terrible the result would be.
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